http://chaipilgrimage.com A Soul-Nourishing Tea Adventure through Nepal, India & Beyond Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:34:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Holi is the Indian festival of colors celebrating the return of spring with boisterous behavior, bright colors, music and joyful dance. It is a time when the established segregation between caste and gender, and the strictly modest Indian social norms, are temporarily put on hold, and everyone can cut loose, ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2010/03/01/happy-holi/ There is a long, complicated list of abbreviated jargon to describe the grades of orthodox teas.  The grade describes the size of the dried tealeaf and whether it is primarily broken leaf, whole leaf, bud or very young bud.  Although the grade does not designate the quality or flavor of ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2010/01/04/tea-leaf-grades/ The journey of a tealeaf from the bush to your chai pot requires both human and technical precision.  In Darjeeling and Sikkim, we traversed the steep slopes of several tea estates, mingling with the tealeaf pluckers as they worked.  Their careful eyes determine the maturity of each leaf while they ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2010/01/02/tea-processing/ With the success of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, we have received many visitors to our what is a chai wallah? post, from those unfamiliar with the term.  To clarify the term chai wallah as it is used in the movie, and to offer a poignant example of this site’s intent, ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/12/18/what-is-a-slumdog-chai-wallah/ Here's a lively sermon from Pastor Eddie D. Smith to sip your morning chai to.  For a more extensive explanation of Namaste, check out this earlier post.  And again, Namaste! http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/11/03/namaste-say-it-again/ OH WOW, it's amazing how time flies by when your life is suddenly filled with so much joy and beauty and laughter... Tulsi is 5 months old already and doing amazing! We are still in a constant state of awe watching her grow. She is as sweet as her name ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/09/17/sweet-inspiration/ Almost seven weeks have passed since our last post, and we have a good reason! Our daughter, Tulsi Lila Grace Shaw, was born on April 9th! She chose Hanuman's birthday on the full moon as the perfect moment to arrive. She's awesome! And we're doing great! (There's more on my ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/05/22/tulsi-time/ We love baking our own chai dipping biscuits. We call these Yogi Chai Biscuits because they are eggless, naturally sweetened, full of sacred cow ghee and pure enough to suit a sattvic diet. But be careful! These biscuits are so yummy, they require the cultivated restraint of a disciplined yogi. ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/04/05/yogi-chai-biscuits/ Above: Indian and Nepali biscuit wallahs & a happy biscuit dippin' customer The only thing better than a tasty cup of chai, is a cup of chai with some chai dipping biscuits to dip in it.  A handful of biscuits and a cup of milky masala chai can almost serve as ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/04/05/chai-dippin-biscuits/ We really enjoyed reading ALL your comments and unique stories!! Thanks so much for sharing. Looks like Mata-Ji (who has been our dear and wise Chai Pilgrimage advisor) chose two winners of our raffle: Gary and Jacqueline. If you email me your mailing address at coloredsock@mac.com, we'll send off a ... http://chaipilgrimage.com/2009/03/12/mata-ji-chooses-winners-of-the-chai-pilgrimage-card-give-away/